Automobile tent



June 11, 1940.A D. MRGADANES AuToMoILE TENT Filed oct. 51,l 1959 2sheets-sheet 1 Nova danesi June 11, 1940. l D, MQRGADANESV 2,204,432

`.AUTOMOBILE TENT Filed oct. 31, 1939 2 sheets-sheet 2 7. Magdelaine@Patented June 11, k1,940`

U-NiTEo STATES PATENT OFFICEA 2,204.4.'12k AUTOMOBILE TENTv DoloresMorgadanes, New Orleans, La.v Application october 31, losa-serial No.302,236

i s claims. (Cl. 13s-7.1i)

`This invention relates to the class of tents and canopies and pertainsparticularly to improvements in automobile tents orportable dressingrooms.

At the present time .large numbers of automobilists when visiting beachresorts make use of their cars as dressing rooms for changing into andout of swimming clothes. not only bad for the upholstery kand interioriinishings of the automobile, but results .in the scattering of largeamounts cf paper and other debris over the beaches or adjacent groundsas it -is common practice amongst such motorists to use newspapers orother paper articles to protect, as much as possible, the interior ofthe motor vehicle.` 'I'he protection aiorde'd to the interior of themotor vehicle in this manner is very inadequate andin addition to thisand the fact that it results in .unsightliness of the beach and adjacentgrounds, the interior of the vehicle is of such a size that. thechanging of the clothes therein is a very awkward and uncomfortableprocess. v

. The present invention has for its primary objectr to provide a noveltent or folding dressing room which may be easily and quickly set upagainst a side of a motor vehicle and securely attached thereto withoutdamage to the finish of the vehicle or without requiring any accessorieswhich must be permanently connected with the vmachine and which willaiTOrd ample protection and room for bathers in changing into and out ofswimming clothes, without involving the risk of wetting or otherwisedamaging the interior nish .of the car.

Another object of the invention is to provide a collapsible auto tenthaving a frame unit provided with a novel means for coupling it withthe' body of a motor vehicle in such manner that the setting upandtaking down of the tent may be accomplished easily and quickly and doesnot require the use of any clamps, screws or other such devices forconnecting the frame to the 'body of the Vehicle.V

Still another object of the invention is to provide a foldable auto tentdesigned to be attached. to one side of a motor vehicle, having an innerwall unit which is employed for covering the adjacent vehicle windowsywhereby the View into the tent from the opposite side of the vehicle isshut on.

A further object of the invention is to provide va collapsibleA tentstructure having a supporting frame which in addition to being' designedfor easy and quick attachment to or dis- This practice is Y tion asexpressed in the appended claims.

Vwith the understanding, however, that the invention is not to beconfined to any strict conformity with the showing of the drawings butmay be changed or modified so long` as such changes or modificationsmark no material departure from the salient features ofthe inven- In'thedrawings:

Fig. 1 is a view in perspective of the tent structure embodying theinvention, showing the same applied. y

Fig. 2 isa View in perspective of the frame structure per se.

Fig. 3 is adetail sectional view attachingcups.

Fig. lis a detail View on an enlarged scale of a joint between certainof the frame bars. V

Fig. is a sectionalA view on the line 5-5 of Fig. 2. y Referring nowmore` particularly to the drawings, there is illustrated in Fig. laportion of a motor vehicle of the sedan type, which is indicatedgenerally by the numeral l and in association with which the foldable orcollapsible tent or dressing room embodying the present invention isshown. The top or roof of this vehicle is indicated at 2, while the nearside wall is indicated by the numeral 3.

The ioldable tent or dressing room. embodying the present inventioncomprises a top or roof frame 4 which. includes two side bars 5. Theseside bars at one end are joined, as hereinafter specifically described,with the ends of an eX- tensible outer bai' which is made up of twoslidably joined portions and While any suitable typeoi connection may beprovided between the ends of the side bars 5 and lthe adjacent ends ofthe portions of theextensible outer bar, such as will permit the severalbars of the frame to be folded up into substantially parallel relation,it is preferred that each of the side bars 5 be provided with a ring 8and that the outer end of each of the two portions of the outer bar beprovided with a similar ring 9 which is joined of yone of the v.li

through the ring 8 in the manner shown so as Cil vbe termed atelescoping a slide ring ID through which the adjacent bar portionextends so that the two bar portions 6 and 'l have their inner ends inoverlapped relation and each extends through the slide ring of the otherportion, thus permitting the two portions to be shifted longitudinallyof one another. While these overlapping ends of the outer bar portionsdo not slide one within the other, nevertheless, the connection shownforms what might joint which permits lengthening or shortening of theouter bar of the frame.

Each of the side bars carries two or more rubber suction cups II, eachof which has a head portion l2 provided with a transverse passage I3through which the bar 5 passes. These suction cups are adjustable ontheir supporting bars and are designed for connection with the smoothsurface of the top 2 of the motor vehicle. When the suction cups are soattached to the motor vehicle, they will support the rods or bars 5 in aposition to extend outwardly from the vehicle top. In the presentillustration of the invention, the bars 5 are extended outwardly fromthe side of the vehicle body and the telescoping or extensible outer barmay be elongated or shortened so as to make the tent of maximum size orof small size as may be desired. By the provision oi the extensibleouter bar, the tent structure may be reduced in size so that it can bedisposed at the rear of the car in which` case the bars 5 will extendlongitudinally of the car body instead of transversely as shown.

Each of the suction cups II has formed integrally therewith a tab or earII' which facilitates detaching the cup from the surface of the carbody. By this means, it will be readily seen that when it is desired toremove or shift the suction cups, they can be readily disengaged fromthe car body without danger of injurying the finish such as would be thecase if it were necessary to use the finger nail or some instrument tolit the edge of the cup from the surface of the body.

Loosely or hingedly connected with the outer ends of the side bars 5 arebrace bars I4 through the medium of the connecting rings I4 which arejoined to the rings of the side bars 5 through the medium of the outerbar rings 9, as shown in 2. The three rings at each outer corner of theframe are thus joined together so that all of the bars may be foldedinto parallel relation.. At the inner end ol each brace bar I4 there isprovided a suction cup I which, like the cups II, are provided with edgeears or tabs by which their removal from the surface of the car isfacilitated. These brace bars I4 are designed to extend inwardly anddownwardly toward the car body when the side bars 5 are disposedhorizontally and attached to the roof of the car in the manner shown inFig. l, and the Asuction cups II" at the inner ends of the brace barsare secured to the side wall of the car body. These brace bars serve togive support to the outer ends of the side bars 5 and to the outerextensible bar so that these horizontally disposed bars will not sagunder the weight of the curtain which they have to support, but if it ispreferred, these brace bars i4 may be dispensed with and only the sidebars 5 and the two-part extensible outer bar used.

The side bars have joined thereto the side tent curtains l5. Theconnection between the curtains i5 and the bars is such that thecurtains may be readily shifted or slid on the bars and the top edges ofthe curtains are joined to a top or roof covering lli. The outertelescoping' bar 6--1 also supports a curtain or side wall for the tentstructure which is indicated by the numeral I'I, and this also may bejoined to the top wall I6 and to the adjacent edges of the walls I5. Itwill be obvious, of course, that the material of the outer wall I'I'must be of greater fullness tlan that of the walls I5 so thatlengthening of the outer wall bar may be accomplished so as to enlargethe tent to its fullest dimensions and consequently, when the tent isset up in its smallest size, the material of this outer wall will begathered on the outer bar of the frame.

The inner edges of the walls I5 of the tent body have connectedtherebetween a panel wall I8 which is' placed at the proper height andhas the proper width to cover the adjacent windows of the vehicle. Thisinner or panel wall may be connected to the adjacent edges of the wallsI5 in any suitable manner so that it may be readily detached whendesired as by the use of snap fasteners or other suitable fasteningmeans. By its use entire privacy is given to the interior of the tentstructure as it will be impossible for anyone to obtain a view of theinside of the tent through the car windows. This panel wall I8 may beprovided with one or more pockets I9 which may be used for holdingcombsl or other toilet accessories or such pockets may, if desired, beplaced upon the inner surfaces of the other walls.

When the tent structure is not in use, the side bars 5 of the top orroof frame may be folded in against the outer extensible bar and thebrace bars Id may be folded against the bars 5 and all of the bars thenwrapped in the tent material so as to obtain a compact structure whichmay be easily transported in the motor vehicle.

From the foregoing, it will be readily apparent that there has here beendisclosed a collapsible automobile tent which is of simple design andwhich may be easily and quickly set up for use and which at the sametime can be economically constructed and readily transported.

What is claimed is:

l. A folding tent supporting structure for attachment to a motor Vehiclebody, comprising a roof frame dening three sides of a rectangle. meanscarried by the two opposite sides of the frame adjacent the ends thereofremote from the third side, for securing the said sides at at least twopoints to the roof of a vehicle whereby the major portion of the framewill extend outwardly from the vehicle for supporting a tent covering,

2. A folding tent supporting structure for attachment to a motor vehiclebody, comprising a roof frame dening three sides of a rectangle, meanscarried by the two opposite sides of the frame at the ends thereofremote from the third side, for attaching the frame solely to the roofof a vehicle whereby the major portion of the frame will extendoutwardly from the vehicle for the support of a tent covering, a pair ofbrace arms each attached to said frame at the side thereof remote fromthe supporting vehicle body, and means at the other ends of said bracearms for coupling the same with the adjacent wall of the vehicle body.

3. A tent supporting structure for attachment to the body of a motorvehicle, comprising a roof frame having a pair of spaced parallel barsand a bar connecting said parallel bars together at one end, said latterbar being in two slidably joined portions, means carried by'each of saidspaced bars adjacent the ends thereof remote from 'the two part bar forattaching said pair of bars at at least two points to the roof of avehicle whereby the major portion of the frame structure is sus-L pendedoutwardly from the Vehicle body for the support of a tent covering, andsaidv attaching means comprising rubber suction cups.

4. A foldable tent supporting structure for connection with ay motorvehicle body, comprising a Vroof frame consisting of a pair of spacedparallel bars and an outer bar connecting said par-l allel barsltogether at one end, a pair of rubber suction cups carried upon each ofsaid parallel bars adjacent the end thereof remote from the outer barand adapted forA suction engagement with the roof of the motor vehiclewhereby the major portion of the frame will be supported outwardly fromthe vehiclebody for the support` of a tent covering.

5. A foldable tent supporting structure forfcon@ nection with a motorvehicle body, comprising a roof frame consisting of a pair of spaced*par-l allel bars and an outer bar connecting said parone end, Va pairof rubber 6. A foldable tent supporting structure' for'con-` nectionwith a motor vehicle body, comprising a roof frame consisting lof' apair of spaced parallel tacl'iment to a will be' supported outwardlyfrom the vehicle body for the support' bars `and an router b arconnecting said parallel bars together at one end, a pair of rubbersuction cupscarried upon each of `said parallel bars radjacent theY endthereof remote from the outer bar and adapted for suction engagen'ientlwith the roof of the'motor Vehicle wherebythe ma- 'y jor portion oftheframe will bersupportedoutf wardly from the vehicle body for the supportof a tent covering, a pair oi' brace bars each` pivotally attached atoneend toy one of said spaced bars to be folded into parallel rrelationtherewith, and a suction cup carried upon the lother end of each bracebar for connection with the wall of the Vehicle.

I m7. A foldable tentv structure for attachmentv tc a motor vehiclebody, comprising a roof frame resigned tobe secured to the vehicle bodyto extendv outwardly therefrom, a tent covering carried by said framelforsuspension therefrom and `including atop wall .and three side walls,two of saidside `wallsrhaving free edges adjacent the `vehicle body, andari-inner panel wall attached to and connecting said edges and disposedat an elevation and having a width suicient to cover `adjacentwindo-wopenings of the vehicle body.

tent supporting structure for atmotor vehicle body, roof supportingframe havingtwo elongated side 8. A- folding members and a crossmemberconnected between two adjacent ends of the side members, resilientsuction means carried byveach side member remote from the cross memberfor attachment to the roof 'of the members extending'outwardly from thevehicle,

and means coupled with the outerpart of the a support for said outer,vpart.

DOLORES MORGADANES.

comprising a Vehicle for maintaining the side A35' frame remote fromsaid suction means providing

